Skipper's Skipper
by Skoolgrl09
Summary: Skipper receives a leader from his old captain. What does it say? What will Skipper do? Please read and find out. Rated K-plus for added safety. Note: Used to be rated K, but felt it best to raise it.
1. Chapter 1

_ Skipper's Skipper_

Chapter 1

It was a warm and sunny morning at the Central Park Zoo, 0800 hours to be exact. Everything was going by

its normal schedule as usual. The monkeys, Mason and Phil were having their morning "chat", Marlene, the

otter was eating her clam cereal, the lemurs Mort and Maurice were aiding to King Julien's every whim. " A

little to the left," barked Julien. " I cannot be having my feet exposed to the sun. Isn't that right feet?" He

said while petting them.

The penguins on the other hand were finishing up their morning training. Today's lesson was camouflage

and search and rescue. " Well done team," Skipper, the lead penguin, yelled as he put one of his flippers in

the air. " High five." Just after the penguins slapped flippers, a homing pigeon flew by, landed on the

platform, and delivered Skipper an envelope. The pigeon glared at Skipper and tapped its claw. "What,"

Skipper glanced back with a raised brow.

" These deliveries aren't free ya know," the pigeon said holding out his claw.

" Rico," bellowed Skipper. Rico waddled up to Skipper. " Pay him. Please." Rico, without hesitation, coughed

up a couple of bags of birdseed, a currency amongst pigeons, and handed them over to the mail carrier.

" Thank-you," the pigeon smiled politely and took off for his next delivery.

" What's it say? What's it say," cheered Private, the youngest penguin, excitedly in his British accent.

" I haven't even opened it, Private," snarled Skipper as he handed the envelope over to Kowalski. "

Kowalski? Analysis."

Kowalski carefully scanned the envelope, studying both the size and the writing on the package. " It

appears to be an important, confidential letter, Skipper." He concluded as he handed the letter back over to

Skipper. Skipper opened the letter slowly, but carefully, and took out a neatly typed paper.

" Well? What does it say," Private asked again curiously.

Skipper read the letter out loud:

"_Dear Skipper,_

_I will be coming to your headquarters for an inspection of not only you as Captain, but your whole team as well on _

_July 7__th__, Saturday, at 01200 hours. Remember Soldier; I will be expecting great things out of all of you. So you _

_had better be prepared when I get here._

_Stay frosty, _

_Tank, General of the Army_"

Skipper froze in fear, starring into space. Today was July 7th and there was still so much that his team has

not even learned yet.


	2. Chapter 2

_Skipper's Skipper_

Chapter 2

"Skipper," Kowalski asked in a concerned tone while waving one of his flippers in front of Skipper's face. Skipper blinked his eyes, shook his head rapidly, and came back to Earth.

"Skipper? Whose Tank, General of the Army," Private squeaked.

Skipper took a deep breath and told everyone the story, "He's my boss and the general, as you already know. But before he became the general, he used to be a captain from many years ago, back when I started out as a private. He taught me everything he knew, like how to fight, be stealthy, and well, you know the rest." Private quickly raised his flipper as if he were at a school. " Yes, Private?"

" A quick question, sir," Private lowered his flipper. " Why is he called Tank?"

Rico interrupted, pulled out a stick of lit dynamite, and made explosion sounds. " No," Skipper bellowed as he put the fuse out. " It's not because he launches off explosives like you, Rico." Rico sighed sadly.

" Then why do they call him that," Kowalski asked reproposing Private's question.

"Because he's the size of one," Skipper screeched, stretching out his flippers. " Now come on we've got some work to do before…"

Just then, a large, muscular penguin with an army helmet marched up behind them and shouted, " A ten hut, soldiers," Skipper and his team jumped up in fear and turned around swiftly. It was Tank. Skipper could tell just by the horrifying, intimidating look in his eyes. His team, however, did not realize this and went to attack Tank, but were quickly halted when Skipper saluted him. After they knew who it was, they quickly stood in a line behind Skipper, and did the same thing. " Add ease." All of the Penguins lowered their flippers. Skipper looked at Tank in surprise.

" Permission to speak freely, Sir," Skipper asked, trying to remain as calm as possible.

"Permission granted," Tank responded.

" I thought you weren't suppose to be here until 01200 hours and it is 0815 hours, Sir," Skipper corrected while keeping a straight face.

Tank scratched the bottom of his beak, " Well I thought I'd surprise you, Skipper. After all a good captain like you is always prepared for anything at anytime, especially when it comes to Inspection Day."

Skipper chuckled nervously, " Right." He thought to himself as he stepped in the line with his team. This is going to be a disaster.


	3. Chapter 3

_Skipper's Skipper_

Thanks for the reviews. They rock. BTW, the only thing that I own that comes close to the POM, is the Madagascar movie. That is all. Enjoy.

Chapter 3

" Now. Introduce me to your team," Tank barked.

Skipper, who was nervously staring at his feet, was too busy worrying about how terrible the inspection

report might be to heed Tank's orders. He was also worried that that report would cause him to lose his job

as Captain along with his entire team. Tank, who had zero patience for anybody, including Skipper, cleared

his throat to get his attention. " Oh? Team names. Right. Sorry." Skipper marched out of line and stood in

front of his team who were patiently waiting for his orders. " Team! Fall in." he barked confidently. " State

both your names and occupations."

The tallest penguin saluted and spoke first, " Kowalski. I am both Skipper's lieutenant and

strategies expert." Kowalski lowered his flipper.

Next, the shortest penguin stepped up and copied what Kowalski had done earlier. "

Private. I do special operations and well, I'm the private."

Tank looked at him and glanced over at the saluting penguin with the feathers sticking up on his head, " You!

State your name and occupation." There was a slight pause of silence, until Skipper spoke out for him.

"Oh? This is Rico, our weapons expert. He is a man of few words." Rico nodded happily

and went to cough up a rocket launcher, but changed his mind when Skipper glared at him. Tank looked at

Rico a moment longer then resumed his inspection.

" Alright then," he pulled out a clipboard with a pen from behind his back and wrote down on the piece of

paper attached to it. " Now. I will need to see the inside of your headquarters."

Skipper froze once more. He had just remembered that the headquarters was a complete pigsty from

yesterday's training in identifying and locating evidence. There was fish, dirt, and pieces of debris all over the

place. Not to mention there was a terrible stench in the bathroom that could wake the dead. Also, thanks to

the Stomach Flu he and his team had caught a couple of weeks ago, he had to cancel maintenance on the

headquarters, thus leading him to completely forget about the whole thing until today. He thought about it

for a moment longer, until Tank located the fishbowl entrance. Skipper quickly rushed in front of Tank, "

No! Don't go in there." He screamed as he blocked the entrance. All of the other penguins, including Tank,

starred at him blankly with widened eyes. " It's in the process of being fumigated, Sir." He said while trying to

keep a convincing tone in his voice, hoping Tank would believe his little, white lie.


	4. Chapter 4

_Skipper's Skipper_

Chapter 4

Tank gave him a surprised look and raised his eyebrow, " What exactly is being fumigated, Skipper? It isn't

sea lions? Is it?"

Skipper looked up into the air, thinking of what of what he was going to say next, " No. It's not sea lions. It's…"

He pondered for a bit more, but was interrupted by the sound of Tank tapping his foot impatiently.

" Well," Tank questioned, folding his flippers. " I'm waiting. What is it?"

Skipper continued thinking for a few more seconds, until an idea hit him like a bug flying into a windshield, "

It's mosquitoes, Sir. The headquarters is being fumigated of mosquitoes. Don't want anyone to catch Malaria

and the West Nile Virus, you know?" He shifted his eyes back and forth swiftly, trying to avoid eye contact

with Tank.

Tank examined Skipper carefully, knowing that something was up, " Alright. Then I'll need to see how much

your team has learned, since they have been assigned to you. Or do you have a problem with that, too?"

Skipper gulped, " Yes, Sir. I mean, no, Sir. Sorry, Sir." He quickly waddled back up to his team, stood in line,

and exhaled quickly.

" Now," bellowed Tank. " I will be reading off of a list. Each move I call, you must perform. No if's, and's, or

but's about it." Just then, another voice stormed in, along with a strange chuckle.

" Butts," it was King Julien, who had been eavesdropping on the penguin's inspection from his habitat. He

jumped onto the penguin's platform, starring at the general penguin. " But without them to be having

booties. How are they supposed to be dancing?"

Skipper groaned, " Could this day possibly get any worse?"

" Who and what are you," Tank asked angrily.

" Me? Do you not to be recognizing me, you silly, flightless bird?" King Julien asked shockingly. Tank just

glared at him, appalled by his appearance and words. " Why I am King Julien of the lemurs. You see my regal

crown?"Skipper gasped in thought. He knew that it was against the Army's rules to allow unauthorized

personnel into a commando penguin's habitat. _That lemur is going to ruin __everything._

" I see it, but...," before Tank could finish responding, Skipper rushed up to King Julien and started forcing him

out of the habitat.

Skipper turned to Tank, " Sorry about that, Sir. He's just an annoying neighbor, who was just leaving, right

now." He grunted, while struggling with King Julien.

" Stop to be from pushing me," King Julien shoved back, but was rushed forward when Skipper moved out of

the way, accidently causing him to fall into the pool of water, which surrounded the entire headquarters. The

lemur quickly surfaced with his crown torn to shreds and climbed out of the water. Skipper tried apologizing

to him, but was interrupted by the lemur's angry tears, " My fancy, regal crown. It is ruined," he cried and

looked down at his wet, no longer newly polished feet. " My feet. They to have been ruined by the wetness

of the fishy, penguin water." He stormed off angrily back to his habitat, slipping and sliding everywhere, " You

will be hearing from my lawyer, type people. And by lawyer, type people, I mean the monkeys." He pointed

his finger at Skipper as he disappeared away from the penguin's habitat.

Tank glanced over at Skipper, who was quietly, standing still. " So," Skipper said hopefully. " How about we

continue with the inspection?"

________________________________________________________________________

Coming up next in chap 5. How will Tank reply? What will happen to Skipper? Stay tuned in and find out. BTW, no actual lemurs were harmed in the writing of the story.


	5. Chapter 5

_Skipper's Skipper_

**Okay. This chapter is a little shorter than the others, but the next one should be longer. Anyway please enjoy.**

Chapter 5

Tank starred at Skipper with soars eyes, " I think I've seen enough." He began to march away, but Skipper

ran and stopped in front of him.

" What," Skipper squeaked. " But, Sir. You've barely been here for half an hour."

" I know," Tank said with an outburst of anger in his voice. " And it is clear to me that you aren't fit for this

particular assignment. I'm stripping you of your duties as Captain and hereby relieving you of all military

services."

Skipper stood in shock, his heart sinking, " What? But you can't…" Tank interrupted him.

" Yes I can," Tank snarled. " And I want you to pack up and be out of this habitat within

24 hours. In the meantime, I will take charge, until a new captain is found. Do I make myself clear, Skipper?"

Skipper stuttered. He did not want to leave his team and the only home he has ever known, " But...," Tank

glared at him, like a snake waiting to catch it's prey. Skipper sighed and saluted sadly, " Yes, Sir."

Tank marched off angrily passed Skipper and his ex-team and walked up to one of the Central Park Zoo

benches outside of the penguin's habitat. He took a deep breath, and quietly muttered to himself, "I really

thought you'd be the one to lead, Skipper. But I guess,I made a mistake."

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Oh no! What's going to happen now that Skipper's lost his job? Wait and find out.


	6. Chapter 6

_Skipper's Skipper_

**Okay. I said the next chapter would be longer. So here it is. Enjoy**

Chapter 6

Meanwhile, at the penguin habitat, Kowalski and the others waddled up to their fallen leader to see if he was

going to be all right. Private glanced up at Skipper's face. He knew right away that they had been let down.

" Skipper," Kowalski began, but Skipper interrupted him with a sigh.

" I cannot believe this," Skipper said mournfully, but at the same time furious. " All my life I had looked up to

that guy. All those years of training wasted. And all because I had to choose to choke."

" It wasn't all of your fault, Skipper," Private said laying a reassuring flipper on Skipper's shoulder. Skipper

pushed it away.

" Yes, it was," he barked. " As a captain, I should've been more calm about the situation, trained you men

when you were supposed to be trained, been honest about what happened to the headquarters, and most

of all…"

Just then King Julien stopped by with the monkeys, Mason and Phil, by his side, " Okay, Skipper. Here are my

lawyer-type peoples I have told you about."

" Hello," Mason said, while Phil waved his paw.

Skipper's face reddened as steam began to rise off the top of his head, " Look. Now really isn't a good

time."

" Well according to my kingly, kingness. This time is a good time. So shut up," the lemur said while glaring at

Skipper.

" Well thanks to your so called " kingly, kingness", I lost my job," Skipper grunted, feeling slightly threatened

by King Julien's visit.

" You lost your, who, what, now," the lemur scratched his head where his crown use to be.

" He lost his job," Kowalski repeated slowly, hoping the lemur would understand. " And now he's going to

have to move out of the penguin habitat."

" Oh," the lemur stated, while admiring his feet. " Well too bad, so sad for you." He turned to the monkeys, "

Alright my lawyer-type peoples. Can we reschedule for… Oh? I don't know. Monday?"

Mason quickly responded, " Monday will work. What do you think, Phil?" Phil answered Mason's question

through sign language, then signed something else. " Of course, we have to wear monkey suits. It makes us

more official."

" So, silly penguins," King Julien turned his attention back to the penguins, who were trying to comfort

Skipper. " What is upping, again?"

Skipper became more irritated at having to repeat himself and walked up to the lemur, " Look I already told

you I lost my job. Men…" He went to continue what he was going to say, but then remembered he could not

give commands to the other penguins anymore. Skipper gave a sigh and lightly smacked himself in the head,

" Right. I'm not allowed to give orders anymore."

" Orders, " Julien asked confusedly, overhearing what Skipper said. " Only I, King Julien, is to be giving the

orders."

" It's not…," Skipper began to become even more aggravated, then turned away from the lemur, and folded

his flippers. " Oh, forget it!"

" Oh? And speaking of the forgettings. I forgotted I had a crown fitting appointment. Bye, bye now." King

Julien rushed back to his habitat, allowing Skipper to finally cool down.

"So, what are we going to do now, Skipper," Private asked in a worried tone.

" We," Skipper stated. " There is no we anymore. It's just you guys. I'm on my own now."

" But, Sir," Kowalski jumped up. " I mean, Skipper. Remember the penguin credo? Never swim alone?"

" Yes, I do remember, Kowalski. I had it memorized by heart for as long as I can remember." Skipper stated

as he lowered his head. " But you all heard what Tank said. I have to be out of here by 0845 hours tomorrow

morning."

"Where are you going to stay then, if not here," Private raised his voice.

Skipper started scanning across the entire zoo." Habitat hunting, I guess," Skipper shrugged. " I had better

start looking now. I mean come on. Somebody is bound to take me in. At least until I find a place near the

zoo." He started to leave the habitat. The others followed, helping Skipper find a new home.

It took them all day long. As a matter of fact, it took until it was nightfall. The only responses they got from

anybody were " No way!", " I'm allergic to psychotic animals.", and " My kingly feet would not appreciate it."

Yes, they went to the lemur habitat, too. All was at a complete bust, until Marlene jumped out in front of

them.

" Hey guys," Marlene starred at the penguins, then at Skipper. " What's wrong with Skipper?"

Kowalski quickly explained what had happened, until Marlene pointed her finger in the air and shouted, " I

know," she smiled widely. " He can come stay over at my place. I have an extra bedroom hidden behind a

boulder in my habitat. Skipper could sleep there." And without hesitating, Skipper accepted Marlene's kind

offer and went back to the penguin habitat to gather his belongings. While he was there, inside the

headquarters, Tank followed him inside, scoffed, and glared at him.

" Skipper? I inspected this place while your were out and it is not being fumigated. It's just a complete

disgrace, like you are." he spoke out with a frown, putting his flippers on his hips. Skipper wanted to back

talk Tank, but then decided it would be better if he remained silent and ignored his comments. Instead,

he decided to walk out of the room and slam the door behind him without even looking back at what he had

to leave behind. Meanwhile, Tank remained inside the habitat grumbling, starring at the door that Skipper

had just exited through,"Yeah? Well, good riddens to you, too!"

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Coming up next in Chapter 7. Will Tank be able to handle Skipper's old team? Will he go crazy? Will Skipper ever get his rightful job back? Stay tuned.


	7. Chapter 7

_Skipper's Skipper_

Chapter 7

Hours passed by, Skipper had already said good-bye to his friends, who were sniffling about his departure,

and walked mopingly over toward Marlene's. Tank stood quietly by the other penguins, glaring at Skipper as

he headed for the otter's habitat. " That's the last you'll ever see of him," he stated. " From now on, I don't

want you three anywhere near that lame excuse for a captain. You got that?"

The three penguins looked at each other with saddened eyes. " But, Sir," Private shouted. " Skipper is our

friend."

" Not anymore he's not," Tank growled, making Private and the others flinch. " Now, to your bunks! We've

got lots of work to do tomorrow morning and its not going to get done if you're all lounging about!"

The three penguins sighed, " Yes, Sir."

Meanwhile, Skipper met Marlene at the entrance of her habitat and went inside. Marlene walked up to a big

boulder, pushed it over, and showed Skipper the guest room. He looked around it and noticed there was a

stone bed, a wooden dresser, which Marlene had built herself, and several varieties of pictures hanging

on all of the walls. Skipper entered the room, sat his stuff down on the bed, and quietly began unpacking his

belongings. Marlene began leaving the entrance to the room, " Skipper? If you need anything at all, you

know where to find me." She said as she disappeared from Skipper's sight, heading to her bed.

Skipper stopped unpacking for a brief moment, only to find that he had stashed his team picture in with his

stuff. He took it out and starred at it with melancholy. That picture was taken on the exact same day he got

promoted to a captain. It was also on the same day Private became part of the team and made the group

a whole. Everybody in the picture looked about the same as they did now, except Skipper wore a fake

moustache, Kowalski had a feather Afro, Rico had a pointy goatee, and Private was two inches shorter.

Almost crying, Skipper sighed, put the picture in one of the drawers of the nightstand, finished unpacking,

and went to bed.

Early the next day, at 0500 hours, Skipper had awoken with a startle in Marlene's habitat. He had almost

forgotten he was staying there. On top of that, he barely got any sleep due to repetitious thoughts of

yesterday's disaster and Marlene's loud snoring, which he had heard through the stone walls all night long.

He tried blocking it out by covering his ears with his pillow, but the sound still seeped through loud and clear.

At first, Skipper chuckled at the fact that Marlene's snore sounded like a snorting pig, but as it continued, it

just became aggravating to listen to.

About an hour later, as 0600 hours rolled by, Skipper began to doze off again, but was soon awakened by

the sound of a shouting voice. " Breakfast time," Marlene shouted cheerfully, walking up to the guest room

with clam waffles and fish syrup. It was silent. Marlene tapped on the stonewall. " Come on, Skipper. Sitting

in there all day isn't going to make you feel any better, or less hungry, for that matter," She listened again,

but the only thing she heard was Skipper's irritated mumbling. " Okay, Mr. Grumpy Feathers. I will give you

your breakfast later then." She said in a frustrated, but concerned tone as she walked away from the room.

Meanwhile, at the penguin's headquarters, Kowalski, Rico, and Private had received a rude awakening by

Tank, who was beating a metal pole on a metal trashcan. " Come on, Soldiers. Let's move," Tank bellowed

as the three penguins climbed out of their bunks slowly, covering their ears. Private, forgetting that Tank was

now in charge, wondered up to the television, turned it on, and began watching it. Tank folded his arms and

marched over by the young penguin. " What do you think you're doing," he snapped.

" Watching the tele, Sir," Private responded. " It's what I do every morning after I wake up."

" Not anymore, you won't," Tank glared at Private as he turned off the television. " From now on, the three of

you will be waking up directly at 0600 hours every morning, make your beds, and stand in line at attention in

front of these bunks by the time I start giving orders. Do I make myself clear?" There was a silent pause.

Tank became angry. " Do I make myself clear," he shouted in a louder voice, making the three penguins jump

into an orderly line.

" Yes, Sir," they all said, saluting simultaneously.

" Good," Tank said with half of a smile. " Now head up top! We've got lots of work to do!"

" Sir? Exactly what kind of work are we doing today," Kowalski asked curiously, wondering if the training

plans he had were different from Skipper's.

Tank starred at Kowalski scornfully. " Oh, the usual training. Obstacle courses , push ups, crunches, laps…It's

an all day thing. I will explain it to you when we get outside. Now move out before I put you on latrine duty,"

he shouted as he and the other two penguins climbed up the ladder and out through the fishbowl entrance.

" Oh? Okay," Kowalski responded with a hint of intimidation in his voice as he hastily followed the others out

onto the platform.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Coming soon in chapter 8. See what happens when Tank aims to train Skipper's old team. Will he succeed or will he have to crawl to Skipper for help? Stay tuned and find out.


	8. Chapter 8

_Skipper's Skipper_

Chapter 8

"Okay, Soldiers," Tank scolded. " Drop and give me one-thousand push-ups."

"One-thousand push-ups," Private questioned as Tank glared at him for speaking without permission.

" This early in the morning," Kowalski stated as he pulled out an abacus from behind his back. " According to

my calculations. If we start with push-ups now, we won't have enough momentum to do anything else."

" Excuse me," Tank snapped, ripping the abacus from Kowalski's flippers and breaking it in half. " Did I ask

you for an analysis?"

" I…Uh… No," Kowalski stuttered, shocked at the fact that his abacus was taken away and destroyed.

" That was a rhetorical question," Tank snapped. " And you're supposed to be the lieutenant and strategies

expert?" He gave a quick scoff. " Where did Skipper find you? Books for Dummies? Because as of right

now, you're making a fly look like a complete genius." Kowalski lowered his head in shame, but at the same

time he was furious about the insult. " Very well," Tank continued, working up to a shout. " Instead of push-

ups, all of you give me five-hundred laps around the entire zoo! Now, go! Go! Go!" All three of the penguins

jumped in fear and began running. Meanwhile, Tank pulled out a lounge chair, an umbrella, and a protein

shake from behind his back and set them up on the platform. Once everything was situated, he finally sat

down and began sipping his drink.

About half an hour later, Skipper came out of the guest room, quietly sneaked passed Marlene, who was

cleaning up the mess from the breakfast she had made, and peeked outside of the habitat to check up on

the other penguins. They were all running his way, but went right on passed the otter habitat. Skipper stood

starring at them, noticing that they were already exhausted and thirsty. He then turned his head toward

Tank, who had fallen asleep in his shaded chair, with the cold shake still attached to his flipper. Skipper

growled at him quietly and shook his head in disappointment. Just then, he heard one of the other penguins

crying.

" It feels like I'm going to be pushing up daisies," Private said, running out of breath. " How many laps have

we ran?" He turned to Kowalski, who looked like he was about to pass out.

" We've ran at least twenty laps, Private," Kowalski uttered out, ridding his forehead of sweat with his

flipper. Suddenly, he heard a familiar voice in the distance. It was Skipper, who had climbed up and stood

on top of the brickwall which surrounded Marlene's habitat.

" Twenty laps," Skipper said in a surprised tone. " Exactly how many laps are you all doing?"

" Five-hundred," Private squeaked out as he, Rico, and Kowalski trudged over toward Skipper.

"What," Skipper's head began to steam. He did not remember Tank making him do anything intensive like

that when he was under his training. Something was wrong here and it had to be dealt with soon.

" It's true," Kowalski breathed heavily and collapsed onto the ground coughing.

" Kowalski," Skipper jumped off of the wall and ran up to Kowalski. " Are you okay? Speak to me."

"I'll be fine," Kowalski coughed again, trying to get back up, but was too dehydrated to do so. " Do you have

any water? Tank won't let us have any until we complete all of the laps." Rico nodded his head dizzily in

agreement, while helping Kowalski get up off of the ground.

"Sure," Skipper looked around cautiously. Tank was still asleep in his lounge chair, only this time he was

hugging his protein shake in his flippers like a teddy bear. "I'll be back. In the meantime, find some shade."

Skipper stopped dead in his tracks before leaving. " On second thought, come here. I have an idea." The

other penguins starred at Skipper with curiosity, then slowly waddled up to him.

" What is it, Skipper," Kowalski groaned as he began to feel even more faint and dehydrated.

" I can launch you boys over the wall and into the water of Marlene's habitat," Skipper said, smiling lightly,

ignoring the fact that Marlene might actually hear them and come outside to see what is going on. " Then

that way you can cool off, while I go get you all some ice cold water."

" Great idea, Skipper," Private responded cheerfully. " But what about Tank? If he finds out that we're all over

here with you, he'll make us run laps until our feet physically fall off."

Skipper gave Private an awkward stare, " Just relax, slam down the water, and pretend that you did run the

laps. And if Tank asks any questions, just tell him you thought you saw an enemy and went to investigate

them. He'll understand." He cupped his flippers and stood with his back towards the wall, " Now, who wants

to be the first to launch?"

" Wait. How do you know if Tank will even believe that story," Kowalski mumbled, still trying to catch his

breath. Skipper put his flippers behind his back nervously and began whistling. " Skipper?"

" Okay, while I was a private, I told Tank the same story," Skipper blurted out, the others stood in shock. "

What? I only did it to get out of his fifty-mile running course. I nearly died the first time I did it. I was even

sent to the infirmary to get a stress test and had to have my blood pressure and heart rate

medically lowered. And because of that, I now have to restrain myself from intense anger and any prolong,

high stressed exercises ."

" No wonder you spread out the training schedule and kept the workouts small," Kowalski stated as he sat

down with his back leaning against the brickwall. " You were trying to prevent us from going

through the same thing you had to go through." Skipper smiled and nodded his head happily. Rico, who was

still standing, smiled, too. He walked up beside Skipper, gave him a tightly gripped hug, and awed.

"Skipper, why didn't you tell us about this before," Private asked, sitting down, rubbing his sore feet.

" I didn't remember it until just now," Skipper said, surprising himself.

"Well, you picked a good time to remember it," Kowalski said, finally getting his energy back up. " And I say

we should use it to our advantage."

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Thanks for the reviews. They are awesome. Up next in Chapter 9. (Author rubs hands together deviously and gives an evil laugh) Looks like Tank is going to get into so much trouble now that Skipper has remembered his past and told his old team about the horrific actions he had to suffer through while under Tank's captainship.( laughing and hand rubbing stops) Please stay tuned for more information.


	9. Chapter 9

_Skipper's Skipper_

Thanks for the reviews. They're all great. Now, it's big. It's bad. It's...

Chapter 9

"So," Skipper waddled over to Kowalski, who was still sitting down. " Exactly how are we suppose to use this

to our advantage?"

" Well if you think about it. Tank has been a careless, tyrant, who overworks everyone he trains," Kowalski

paused for a moment and finally stood up on his feet. " Skipper, any idea how Tank became the general in

the first place?"

" Now that you mention it, Kowalski," Skipper rubbed his chin with one of his flippers. " There was one day

where Tank decided to let up on the training."

" Let up on the training how, Skipper," Private asked, still rubbing his feet, which were now covered in

blisters. Rico walked by Private, coughed up a bottle of ointment, and handed it over to him.

" Well," Skipper pondered. " I remember that he decreased the fifty mile run to a five mile run, one-thousand

push-ups to only one-hundred push-ups, and the five-hundred lap run to just a five lap run."

" Do you still remember which day that was," Kowalski raised an eyebrow with curiosity.

Skipper thought for a moment and gasped in shock, " It was on an inspection day. Yeah? That was it."

" An inspection day," Private asked in shock as he lathered the ointment onto the bottom of his feet. It stung

him at first, but after a while, it seemed quite soothing.

" That's right, Private, " Skipper said. "Before Tank became the general, another penguin by the name of

Loud Beak was in charge. It turns out he was coming for an inspection to find out who was ready to be

promoted to the upper ranks."

" The upper ranks," Kowalski thought for a few seconds. " And what upper ranks were available, exactly?"

" Well, now that you ask," Skipper recalled his memories once more. " There was one position available. You

see? Loud Beak was planning on hiring a new general and retiring along with a group of elder soldiers, which

he himself had lead during the Antartican War."

" The Antartican War," Kowalski was surprised. " Out of all the war research I've read. I have never stumbled

across anything on the Antartican War."

" Nobody ever got the chance to record anything on it. It was penguins against leopard seals for the love of

halibut," Skipper stated. " And on top of that, that war was a complete disaster. Only ten out of ten-

thousand penguins survived that day."

" Oh dear. How long ago was that? That and when did Loud Beak leave," Private asked, finally being able to

place his feet flat on the ground without them hurting.

Skipper shrugged," I don't know. The war was about thirty or forty years ago in penguin years. It was

sometime before I even hatched. And second, I don't even remember when Loud Beak left. It was too long

ago."

" Okay? Since you can't remember. How old are you, then," Kowalski asked. Skipper glared at him. He did not

like being asked about his age, " It can help us determine how long Tank's been in charge and how long you

were a private."

" Okay. Here's the thing. And please don't tell anyone about my age. Okay? I want everyone to keep thinking

that I'm younger than I actually am," the penguins nodded in agreement. " Okay, here it goes. I'm thirty-two.

I became a private at the age of eighteen and became a captain at age twenty-four," Skipper quickly said

under his breath, while the other penguins starred at him, trying not to laugh about his age.

Kowalski thought for a moment, " Okay, if you're thirty-two and became a captain at age twenty-four. This

means that Tank has been in charge for at least eight years straight now, probably meaning that he has

been promoted so high up, he could not possibly get relieved of military duties by another military official,

unless…"

" Unless what," Private was now completely lost in the conversation.

" Unless it is the chief commander of the army," Kowalski resolved proudly.

Skipper scoffed, putting his flippers on his hips, " Good luck, Kowalski. That guy is booked months in advance

in military meetings. It's been that way for him for years."

" So what do we do about it then," Kowalski asked. " We have an urgent emergency here."

" You didn't let me finish," Skipper barked. " He's usually booked for months in meetings, but one day,

after Tank and I got promoted, he stopped by and gave me this in an event of an emergency." He pulled out

an old walkie-talkie with a silent alarm signal button on it and a tracking device. Skipper quickly pressed the

button and waited for a response.

" It's quiet, Skipper," Private squealed. " Are you sure it still works?"

" Of course I'm sure," Skipper shook a little. " Although I did drop it a few times."

Suddenly, a response came through. It was the chief commander, who was surprised to be getting a call, "

Hello?" His rough voice muffled statically through the speaker. The penguins heard the response and went to

answer it.

" Hello, Commander Warship," Skipper said in a serious tone. " This is Skipper from New York City, New York,

at the Central Park Zoo. You know? From eight years ago?"

"Skipper," Commander Warship pondered. " Didn't Tank just relieve you of all military services? It says so

right here in the papers he sent to me."

" Yes, Sir. He did," Skipper responded back. " But we've got a huge problem on our flippers."

" What kind of a huge problem," Commander Warship sounded concerned and unsure.

Kowalski snatched the walkie-talkie from Skipper, who was about to respond," It's Tank, Sir. He's out of

control."

" What do you mean and who are you," Commander Warship became irritated.

" I'm Kowalski, the Lieutenant and strategies expert, Sir" Kowalski stated. " Listen. Tank has been going mad

with the training exercises and we're suggesting that you come check it out."

" Mad," Commander Warship became doubtful about what he was listening to. " Tank? Nonsense. From what

I've seen, he keeps the exercises short and sweet. I haven't even seen him make a soldier do more than

twenty pull-ups a day, but if you're all going to be such whiners about it. I guess I'll come take a look."

" When you come, could you keep it in stealth mode, please, Sir" Skipper asked hopefully. " We don't

want Tank to know you're around the perimeter."

"Sure, Skipper," Commander Warship responded gladly. " You have my word. I'll be there within an hour. I'll

be flying in from Little Rock, Arkansas."

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Finally, the penguins have hatched a plan against Tank. Just thought I'd let you all know, that I don't know any of the characters actual ages. I'm just making them up. Next in Chapter 10. Catch all of the action when Commander Warship comes to the zoo.(dramatic music) Please stay tuned.


	10. Chapter 10

_Skipper's Skipper_

Thank-you for the reviews. Now here's the next chapter. BTW. If it looks like the rating needs to be raised above"K", just let me know. Thank-you. Enjoy the story.

Chapter 10

"Roger that," Skipper responded. " Meet me behind the bushes by the zoo entrance as soon as you get here.

Over and out." Skipper shut off the walkie-talkie and put it behind his back.

" So," Private scratched the top of his head worriedly. " What are we suppose to do until Commander Warship

gets here?"

" Lay low until it's at least fifteen minutes before the hour is up, " Skipper suggested as he walked away from

the wall and turned towards the other penguins. " Then the three of you head over to Tank and wake him up."

The three penguins bit the edge of their flippers. They were afraid to share the same habitat with Tank, let

alone the same planet.

Skipper was still speaking with his old team, trying to reason with them, when Tank had woken up from his

nap to find that the team was not running around the zoo. He looked around, scanning the entire area

until he spotted them hanging around Skipper. His shake fell out of his flippers and onto the platform. Tank's

body turned red from the bottom of his feet up to the top of his head, like an old mercury thermometer. He

jumped out of his chair, marched angrily out of the penguin habitat, and headed towards the other penguins.

" But how are we going to do that without him attacking us," Kowalski nervously asked as he pondered.

" Well that's easy," Skipper replied, as Tank unnoticeably walked directly behind him. The other penguins froze

in fear and tried to signal Skipper to turn around, " You pick up the lounge chair he's asleep in and either tip

him out onto the platform or dump him into the pool." Skipper paused, noticing the other penguins were

starring with frightened expressions, " What?" Everyone was silent. He heard angry, deep breathing behind

him.

" Do you really think it's a good idea to wake him up, " Tank grunted, listening in on the conversation. Skipper

turned around quickly to find that he was face to face with Tank. He smiled, gulped, and stepped back a few

inches, " I thought I had you hung out on the line to dry." He snarled. Skipper gave him a look of anger and

disgust, " And you three! You are hereby under Insubordination and are having your training exercises

doubled! What do you think you're doing here with this disgrace, anyway!? Don't you have a five-hundred lap

run to finish!?"

" Sir," Kowalski spoke up, attempting to lie to Tank. " We already ran the five-hundred laps."

" Well then," Tank scratched his chin with his flipper and worked his way up to a shout. " In that case, give me

one-thousand laps, right now! All of you! Go! And remember no water until you're done!"

" Hold it right there," Skipper interrupted, tired of dealing with Tank's behavior. " They're not going anywhere!"

" Oh, yeah," Tank glared at Skipper. " Well look who's in charge of this group. Not you!" Skipper lowered his

head, clinching his flippers into tight fists, " And do you want to know why? Well do you? It's because I stayed

strict to all of my teams, twenty-four seven. I didn't slack off or give in to any of their whims like you did with

your's."

" Look," Skipper stepped up, unclinching his fists. " At times when things are too stressful or everyone is

overworked, a break is very well needed to recharge things up a bit."

" Yeah," Tank snarled. " And look at where those "breaks" got you. Now if you'll excuse me…"

" Excuse you," Skipper jumped up in anger. Little did the penguins know, Alice decided to come to the zoo that

day to check up on the animals' pens. She was walking over to look at the penguins' habitat, shortly after

checking the monkeys' cages, " I have been excusing you ever since the first day you started training me! And

you know what!? You nearly killed me!"

Tank scoffed, then let out a chuckle, " Figures. You were always so weak." Skipper gasped then became more

infuriated.

" Skipper? Tank," Private squealed as he and the others spotted Alice heading toward their habitat. They tried

to warn Tank and Skipper, but they were too busy arguing. The other penguins slid off back to the penguin

habitat, leaving the other two behind.

Alice heard the racket and went to see what was going on, " What on earth?" The zookeeper pondered, then

became shocked when she found two penguins out of the pen, ready to fight. She quickly ran up behind

Skipper and grabbed him before he could jump at Tank. Tank grinned at Skipper, then scoffed, " What are you

doing out of your pen? And when did this penguin get here?" Tank glared at her, " Wait. I'm talking to

penguins here. Oh, well. Back to the pen with both of you then." She reached down to pick up Tank, but he

was too heavy for her to lift, " On second thought. I'll take you back one at a time." She walked off with

Skipper in her arms, set him down in the pen, and then came back for Tank. To her dismay, he had already

managed to beat her to the habitat," Oh? Alright, then. Guess my work here is done for the day." She starred

at the penguins suspiciously as she exited the zoo.

Tank glared down at Skipper, who was still in the habitat, " You! Out!" He pointed his flipper to the outside of

the penguins' home.

Tank turned his head to make sure Alice had actually left area. Skipper rolled his eyes at him and whispered to

the others, "Okay. You three stay here as planned, while I go wait for the commander." The others nodded, as

they watched Skipper hop over the fence, but swiftly snapped in line, when Tank turned his head back to look

at them.

"What are you three still standing around here for," Tank questioned them. " I want you to run those one-

thousand laps! Now!" The penguins whimpered and began running once again.

Soon, an hour passed by. The penguins had already ran fifty-laps and were about ready to fall over. They had

completely forgotten to drink any water during their visit with Skipper and now they were completely

dehydrated and overheated. Meanwhile, Skipper was pacing around behind the bushes in front of the zoo,

waiting for the commander to show up. He stopped and looked up at the zoo clock above the entrance to

check the time. The commander was already running fifteen minutes late. Skipper could not help, but stress

the fact that one of the top ranks in the military was actually _running late._ " Where is he," he quietly said

impatiently. " He should've been here by now."

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Commander Warship arrived, grabbed Skipper's flippers, and held them behind his

back. Skipper jumped, not expecting the commander to act that way. Commander Warship starred at him and

began interrogating Skipper, " State yourself!" He said while he was completely covered in leaves, trying to

blend in with his surroundings. The commander was only about two-thirds the size of Private, but had the

strength of an elephant.

" I'm Skipper," Skipper grunted, trying to escape from the commander's clutches. " Don't you even recognize

me?"

The commander was not pleased with his response, " If you're Skipper, then prove it."

" You gave me an old walkie-talkie eight years ago and told me to use it in an event of an emergency," Skipper

shouted back.

Commander Warship pondered, " Not good enough! Show me your ID!"

" You know I would show it to you, if you would let go of my flippers first," Skipper glared at the commander.

The commander let him go, watching him with caution. Skipper pulled out his ID from behind his back and

showed it to the commander. Luckily, for him, Tank did not ask for that back when he was relieved from his

job. It would have been taken away forever.

The commander blushed, " Oh? My sincerest apologies. You changed a lot since the last time I've seen you."

" I only ditched the fake moustache. That's all," Skipper stated, putting his ID away. " Now, about the

emergency..."

" So," Commander Warship stated in a whisper, interrupting Skipper. " I hear there's a problem with Tank.

Show him to me."

Skipper finally calmed down from the shock of being attacked earlier and began whispering, " Okay. Follow me.

But you do realize that you're fifteen minutes late, right?"

" I am never late, Skipper," Commander Warship argued. " Now, will you kindly lead the way?"

" Yes, Sir," Skipper saluted. He removed part of a bush, which had a huge hole dug under it. Commander

Warship starred in surprise, wondering how and why it was dug there in the first place. Skipper noticed the

commander's confused expression, " Oh? This was dug a couple of years ago by my old team during our

escape to the wild. But now it's just used whenever necessary."

" Oh? I don't recall ever receiving a permission request for this," Commander Warship replied, rubbing his chin.

Skipper glanced at him, " You didn't and neither did Tank, but let's save that conversation for another time.

Right now we have an emergency to take care of." Skipper concluded as he disappeared into the hole. The

commander watched Skipper with a raised eyebrow and followed after him.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Sorry. This last part was mainly an introduction to Commander Warship. The rest of the action for his arrival will continue in the next chapter. Coming up next in Chapter 11. The real action begins when the commander finds out Tank's cruelty towards his fellow soldiers. Please stay tuned.


	11. Chapter 11

_Skipper's Skipper_

Warning: Rating and Genre may vary in this chapter. Please enjoy.

Chapter 11

Once they were both inside of the hole, the commander began scanning the area, but it was too pitch black to

see anything. Not even the white of their feathers stood out. Skipper felt around, pulled out a flashlight from

behind his back, and pressed the button on it to turn it on, thus lighting the tunnel. Now that the place was

well lit, Commander Warship could see that the tunnel was much shorter than he was, meaning that both he

and Skipper would both have to army crawl. Skipper began crawling first, leading the way with his flashlight.

The commander followed closely behind, trying to keep up with Skipper. While they were crawling, about half

way into the tunnel, the bulb in the flashlight Skipper was holding burned out, leaving the two penguins

stranded and blind.

" Great," Skipper said sarcastically, bumping his head at the top of the tunnel, then rubbing it with his flipper. "

I knew I should've changed that bulb before I left."

The commander sighed, " Looks like we have to rely on Option B to get us out of this one."

" Our gut instincts," Skipper stated questionably.

" Our gut instincts," Commander Warship replied, as he and Skipper began using their instincts to guide them

out of the tunnel. Once they reached the end of the tunnel, the two penguins began hearing Tank bark out

orders. The two quickly raced to the opening of the tunnel, which was right behind Private's first prize that

Tank did not even know about, and pushed it open like it was a door. Then they both raced up the ladder,

which led to the fishbowl entrance, and slightly poked their heads out to see what he was doing.

" Pick up the pace, you slackers," Tank growled. The three penguins were running as fast as they could,

panting with dry mouths and clouded heads. Suddenly, one of the penguins wheezed and collapsed hard

onto the ground. It was Private, the smallest and youngest of the group. Skipper and Commander Warship

both gasped silently. The other two penguins, Rico and Kowalski, looked over their shoulders, while they were

running, gasped loudly, and went to go help out their friend, but were quickly halted. " What do you two think

you're doing," Tank snapped. " Keep going! And Private? Enough lolly gagging! Now get your sorry self up off

of the ground and kick your tail into high gear, before I triple the entire team's training exercises!" Private did

not move a muscle. He could barely even breathe. Skipper watched in shock, eyes almost watering, " Oh. No."

He lowered his head, trying to look away. Commander Warship starred at Tank, eyes lit to a raging fire. Never

in his whole life had he ever seen such a horrific display by one of his fellow soldiers.

" Come on, Private," Tank shouted more in a louder tone. Private still did not respond. Kowalski and Rico,

who were ignoring Tank's orders to keep running, remained by Private. Tank bellowed once more, but silence

soon filled the air. Kowalski grabbed one of Private's flippers and tested his pulse. It was extremely high.

" We need to get him to the infirmary," Kowalski concluded. " And soon."

Tank stood puzzled. " What," he screamed. " Unacceptable! He'll be fine in a few seconds! Just you wait! My

program hasn't failed anyone, yet!" A few seconds passed by and Private was still lying on the ground. All of

the penguins, except for Tank, looked at Private with concerned, tearful expressions.

" That's it," Kowalski shouted impatiently. " He's going to the infirmary and that's that!"

" I don't think so," Tank argued. " I'm putting both you and Rico on strict orders not to take Private to the

infirmary!"

" But if we don't take him to the infirmary now, his chances of surviving might become slim," Kowalski said in a

concerned tone. Rico stood by Kowalski and nodded his head sadly at Tank. " Sure he might have some

problems afterwards," Kowalski continued. " But it's better to have him alive than dead. Right?"

Tank stood, flippers crossed and with a glare on his face, " My answer, to you, is still negative!"

Meanwhile, at the fish bowl entrance, Commander Warship became even more appalled by Tank's careless

actions. He hastily climbed out of the entrance and marched up to Tank. Skipper began following behind him,

wanting to tackle Tank, but changed his mind, and went to go check on Private. Stopping behind Tank,

Commander Warship made a saltshaker fist with his flipper and coughed into it. Tank turned around quickly.

The bottom of his beak dropped onto the platform. " Commander…Warship," he said nervously starring at the

commander. " What are you doing here?"

" I was about to ask you the same question," Commander Warship replied back. " What in Cod's name are

you doing to these, soldiers? I didn't authorize any of this."

" Oh," Tank scratched the top of his helmet. " I was showing them what it would be like if all they did was

hardcore training all the time. Isn't that right, soldiers?" The other penguins, including Skipper, glared at Tank,

then resumed watching Private. His condition was getting worse. Together, the three penguins picked him up

and began carrying him to the infirmary, not even paying attention to Tank's and Commander Warship's

conversation. Shortly before they left, Skipper had Kowalski pull out a note pad, write down a note stating

where they were going and what happened, and gave it to Phil and Mason, who were "talking" in the monkey

cages. Right after they left, Commander Warship continued analyzing Tank.

" What you call hardcore training is nothing but a complete mayhem and a death causing action," Commander

Warship retorted.

" But, Sir," Tank stuttered, trying to think of lies. " It was just a practice simulation. It's not like I was really

going to make them do this sort of training everyday. I let them have breaks whenever they needed it. I also

allowed them to have water, food, whatever. You name it."

The commander scanned Tank's face. He could tell that half of it was beginning to twitch. " You're lying,"

Commander Warship grumbled.

" What," Tank's eyes shifted. " I'm not lying! I'm telling you the truth!"

The commander glared at Tank. " No, you're not. And from the display of responsibility that you've shown me

today, I'm afraid I'm going to have to relieve you from General and all other military services."

" What," Tank screamed. " You can't relieve me! I'm irreplaceable! I'm the ultimate G.I. Joe!"

" Not anymore," Commander Warship scoffed. " Besides, I have someone better in mind that can replace you

easily. Someone who has actually demonstrated responsibility for their team."

" Really," Tank raised an eyebrow. " Who?"

" I'm afraid that's classified," Commander Warship responded. " Now move out of here, before I have to get

ugly."

Tank glared at Commander Warship, stormed out of the penguin habitat, and muttered under his breath. " Oh,

I'll show you ugly, all right. Just wait and see. I will be waiting and you will be crawling back to me for mercy."

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Looks like Tank has finally gotten what he deserved from years ago. Anyway, coming up in Chapter 12. Private is at the infirmary, leaving the other penguins worried sick. Please stay tuned.P.S.: There is no pairing in this story. Maybe a little Skipper/Marlene later on, but that's about it. I'm still deciding whether or not to add it.


	12. Chapter 12

_Skipper's Skipper_

Okay, since I could not find a spot in this story for a Skipper/Marlene scene. I've decided not to add it. Instead, I've decided to turn the Skipper/Marlene scene into a completely different story of it's own called "To Private's Eyes". Anyway, thanks for the reviews and please enjoy the next chapter of the story.

Chapter 12

Meanwhile, the penguins arrived at the infirmary and began knocking on the front door. Luckily for them, there

was an emergency veterinarian inside, who answered the door, and looked down at the ground to see the

three sad penguins holding an unconscious smaller penguin. " Oh my goodness," the vet said looking down at

the small penguin. " What happened to you?" She picked up Private out of the sad penguins' flippers and

brought him inside. The other penguins all followed close by, worrying he may die. Soon, the vet walked into

her office and set Private down on the inspection table. She began digging out her medical tools, while the

other penguins slid inside and climbed onto a nearby counter. They stood still watching Private silently. " Ah!

Ha," the vet screamed happily. " Here's my stethoscope. Now I can check your heart rate." She placed the

stethoscope gently on Private's chest and listened to his heart. It was beating dangerously fast. The vet

pondered for a moment then she took out another instrument and checked Private's blood pressure. It was

also very high. " Oh. No," the vet groaned. " Not another one. This is the second penguin I've dealt with who

has had that same problem." She glanced up, noticing that the other penguins were sitting on the counter.

The vet looked at Skipper and sighed. " I wonder what has been causing this to happen to you guys. I'll need

to do some research, but first I need take care of your buddy." She grabbed a syringe, filled it with a heart

rate lowering medication, and injected it into Private. Skipper looked away. He did not like needles one bit. The

vet pulled out the needle. " There," she said, disposing of the needle into a trashcan. " That ought to help

lower your heart rate and blood pressure at the same time. And now to find out the cause of all this." The vet

left the room, leaving the door open, to find an updated medical book on penguins. Meanwhile, Skipper, Rico,

and Kowalski all gathered around Private, hoping that the medication would go through in time. Several

minutes passed by and the young penguin still did not move. The penguins lowered their heads. Soon

Commander Warship and Marlene stopped by the infirmary and stood in the doorway of the room that Private

and the other penguins were in. They observed them closely, taking in every word of the conversation.

Marlene wanted to yell at Skipper for sneaking out and not eating breakfast, but decided to stay silent.

" The medicine's not working," Kowalski said sadly under his breath. Rico kept silent, nodded his head sadly,

and starred down at Private.

Skipper sighed." This is all my fault," he mumbled, looking away from the others. " If I hadn't have messed up

on the inspection, none of this wouldn't have ever happened."

" Now Skipper," Kowalski placed a flipper on one of Skipper's shoulders. " It wasn't your fault this happened. It

was Tank's. He forced too much work on all of us and in return caused this to happen to Private."

" But still," Skipper glared at Kowalski. " It was my fault for letting Tank get the best of me and take over the

team." He looked away and sighed. " If I hadn't have let that happen, Private wouldn't be in the infirmary right

now." The commander and Marlene were still watching them from the doorway, completely unnoticed.

Marlene decided to walk up to the penguins. " Hey guys," she said quietly. The penguins turned toward

Marlene. Skipper's eyes widened. He flinched, thinking Marlene was going to scold him for sneaking out

of her habitat. " I heard what happened. How's he doing?"

Skipper relaxed and mumbled. " We don't know. He was given some medicine to help him out, but he's still not

responding."

" Oh," Marlene said worriedly. She remained next to the penguins and waited patiently with them. All grew

silent as they looked at Private. Soon, a half an hour passed by and nothing still happened. Soon, the

animals all broke out into tears. Then upon listening to the sound of crying, Private opened his eyes, and saw

his team and Skipper and Marlene, gathered around him. He slowly got up, confused of what was happening.

" Hey," Private said. " Why is everyone crying?"

" The medicine didn't work," Kowalski sobbed.

" Medicine," Private scratched his head. " What medicine?"

" It doesn't matter," Skipper cried. " We're going to lose Private and it's all my fault. He would've amounted to

greater things in his life. He could've been a great leader someday for all we've known. Probably a better

leader than me." The animals got into a group to hug, then reached over for Skipper to join them. " Don't,"

Skipper said sticking out his flipper. " I don't deserve a hug. Not after what happened today."

" Lose me," Private cried. " Why would you lose me? And why are you blaming yourself for this?"

" It's like what was said before," Kowalski stated, sniffling and wiping his eyes. " The vet gave

Private a shot to lower his blood pressure and heart rate so that he can stay alive and nothing happened."

" And now it's my fault he's going to die, because I let Tank take over and overwork him to death," Skipper

repeated himself as he wiped the top of his beak with his flipper.

" But I am not going to die," Private rolled his eyes. None of them knew he was talking to them. " As a matter

of fact I feel better than I did earlier."

" Nonsense," Marlene whimpered. " You're only saying that because he's getting worse and you don't want

us to worry about him."

" Okay. That's it," Private grew impatient and screamed. " Hello! I'm right here and still alive!" The others

stopped crying and starred at Private in shock. " Thank you for finally listening to me. Oh? And Skipper? Thanks

for the comment about me making a great leader someday. I had no idea you thought I was cut out for that

sort of thing."

" Your welcome," Skipper rubbed the back of his head. He was still in shock. " You have caught on quickly the

past couple of years. Not to mention the time you took lead position on the babysitting mission to rescue Eggy

from a runaway popcorn machine once," Skipper paused for a moment. He and the other animals in the room

all smiled widely from cheek to cheek. Soon, everybody jumped in excitement and ran up to hug Private. " I

can't believe my eyes! You're still alive," Skipper shouted.

" I thought the medicine would never kick in on time," Kowalski stated happily. Rico nodded his head in

agreement, with a huge grin on his face.

" Yeah," Marlene added. " We thought you were going to be gone for good."

Soon, Commander Warship finally decided to enter the room and walk up to Skipper, who still had his flippers

wrapped around Private. Skipper saw Commander Warship and released Private from his grip. He walked up

to him. " Commander Warship," Skipper starred at the commander in surprise. " What are you doing here?"

" Well," Commander Warship started. " I came to see how the littlest soldier was doing, since that monster

Tank went crazy with the training exercises and caused him to collapse like that."

" Oh," Skipper responded. " He's doing fine. And speaking of Tank. What did you do to him after we left? We

kind of had to miss it, seeing we had an emergency to take care of."

" I relieved him from his position and military duties," Commander Warship responded with a straight tone.

" Who's going to take his place now that he's no longer in charge of that area," Skipper asked, raising an

eyebrow.

" You are," Commander Warship retorted.

Skipper's mouth dropped. " Me," he pointed to himself. " Why me? I can't perform military services anymore.

Remember?"

" Well I'm reinstating it," Commander Warship smiled at him. " And to reward you for all of your hard work and

dedication to care for your team, I'm making you the General of the Army."

" General of the…," Skipper stuttered, then continued. " I couldn't possibly. From all that's happened this

weekend, I'd rather just go back to being a captain for my old team."

" I do respect your decision, Skipper," Commander Warship rubbed his chin, thinking. " Though did I neglect to

mention that you'll be able to see your old team members during your inspection runs?"

" Well," Skipper thought. " Yes you did. But still, it wouldn't be the same. I wouldn't be able see them for a

while. Besides, this team needs me and it would make me worried sick just to leave them with another leader

that they don't even know." Skipper paused for a moment then thought to himself. " Although, I do have an

idea who could take place as Captain of this team, so it'll be easier for you to appoint me as General."

" You do," Commander Warship raised an eyebrow, trying to figure out what Skipper was thinking. "Who?"

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Private's alive! Horray!Coming up next in Chapter 13. Find out whom Skipper has in mind for the next captain. Please stay tuned and find out. P.S.: The hint was already given in the story.


	13. Chapter 13

_Skipper's Skipper_

Thanks for the reviews. They rock out loud. Now, here comes Skipper's idea for his replacement. Sorry, but the story is starting to get closer to the end. I don't know exactly how many more chapters I'm going to write for this story, yet, seeing that I keep finding more ways to continue it. So, anyways, please enjoy.

Chapter 13

" I was thinking about appointing Private for my replacement as Captain," Skipper glanced over at Private,

who was still tightly wrapped in the arms of his now cheerfully, laughing friends. Private had a large smile on

his face and was laughing along with them. " The little soldier deserves it after all that he's been through."

" Yeah," Commander Warship replied, also looking at Private. He turned his head to Skipper. " I overheard

you saying something about him taking lead position in rescuing an egg during a babysitting mission?"

" Yep. And let me tell you, none of us were expecting him to do that that day," Suddenly, Skipper froze. He

put his flippers on his hips and turned toward the commander. " Wait a minute. How long were you listening

in on the conversation?"

" Long enough," Commander Warship shrugged. " It was right before the tallest soldier said that the

medicine wasn't working. I heard his voice on the walkie-talkie earlier. What was his name, again?

Kowalski?"

" That's the one," Skipper uttered. " Anyways, here's the actual deal I would like to make with you. Unless

one of my old team members becomes Captain, or I remain as Captain, or there is some strange way I can

still train and travel with my team as both General and Captain. I'm afraid I still can't accept that offer."

Commander Warship pondered, rubbing his chin roughly. " Actually, Skipper, I do have a way you can still

have your salmon and also eat it."

Skipper raised his eyebrow at him. " What do you have in mind, Sir?"

" Well I was thinking," Commander Warship pondered out loud. " How about I appoint you as General and

allow you to train Private for Captain's position?"

Skipper glanced at Commander Warship skeptically, keeping his eyebrow raised. " Sir, is that even possible? I

mean, how am I suppose to balance traveling around the country, by myself, for inspections, while trying to

train a new captain? Huh? You tell me. How am I supposed to do that?"

" I'll make it simple for you then," Commander Warship responded with a haggling tone. Skipper listened to

the commander's offer carefully." You can still live in the penguin habitat at the Central Park Zoo and travel

with your team on missions and inspection runs. Then that way, you'll still be able to balance your job as

General and train the new captain all in the same day. So, what do you say, Skipper? Do we

have a deal?"

Commander Warship smiled as he held out his flipper, waiting for Skipper to respond. Skipper took a flipper

to his chin, thinking about his decision carefully. " I say you've got yourself a deal," he responded, smiling

back, reaching out for Commander Warship's flipper. They both gave each other a firm flippershake, then

released their flippers back to their sides." Hey, Private," Skipper glanced over at the young penguin. " Come

over here. I've got something important to tell you."

Private looked up at Skipper with curiosity and looked over at his friends. "Could you excuse me for a

moment, please," the other animals loosened their arms and allowed Private to slip away. They watched him

as he made his way to the two penguins. Private waddled up to Skipper. " What is it Skipper?"

" Private," Skipper began with a slight smile. " How would you like to be the new captain of the team?"

Private's light blue eyes became as humongous as the sun. " Me," he stuttered, wondering if he was now

dreaming. " A captain? But why? What about Kowalski and Rico? They're more experienced than I am. How

come you're asking me to do this?"

" Well, Private," Skipper put his flippers comfortably behind his back. " The reason why I'm asking you to do

this is, because I'm not going to be returning as your captain and I wanted to make sure that

the replacement I had chosen was very trustworthy, fast at taking control in situations, and above all caring

enough for the job. Also, I wanted to make sure that they demonstrated plenty of responsibility and

hardwork in everything they do, such as being there for the team and helping out anyone,

anywhere, whenever possible. Like the time you took responsibility for taking care of Eggy when we eggsat

him for that mother duck, while the rest of us tossed and pushed him, acting like a bunch of, well, you know,

birdbrains. Not to mention that you took control of a rescue mission before I could that day, which was quite

a huge step for you, and I'm very proud of you for doing that. Which is why I want you to be Captain."

Private stood, stunned by Skipper's speech." Wow, Skipper. I didn't realize that I was actually cut out to be

a captain. Thank-you," he paused for a moment. Skipper smiled softly and nodded his head once." Wait. Does

this mean you're not coming back, ever," Private questioned nervously. The others in the room had

overheard Private's outburst, perked their heads up at Skipper, and waited for his response.

Skipper looked back at them with a small smile." Of course, I'm coming back," Skipper responded in a

calm tone. "I'll just be in a different rank, is all."

" And what rank would that be," Kowalski curiously waddled up to Skipper.

" Brace yourselves and sit down, because here it comes," Skipper announced in his regular, serious tone.

He glanced at everybody in the room as they all sat down, eagerly waiting for his announcement. " Okay. Are

you ready for it?" Everybody in the room nodded their heads and starred at Skipper. Skipper whispered to

Commander Warship, who was still standing by him, about his announcement before proceeding to ensure

that however he was going to say it was appropriate for the time he was giving it. Commander Warship

nodded his head at the idea and sat down with the other animals on the inspection table. Skipper took in a

deep breath and began talking like a gameshow talk host." Call yourselves monkey's uncles and say that

Bob's your uncle, because I'm going to be the new General of the Army!"

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Whoo! Hoo! General Skipper and Captain Private will now be reporting for duty. Coming up next in Chapter 14. Catch everybody's reaction from hearing Skipper's news about becoming the new general. Also catch their reactions when they are told about Private becoming the next captain. Please stay tuned and find out more. Thank-you.


	14. Chapter 14

_Skipper's Skipper_

Thank-you for the reviews. I mean it. They're great. Now here comes the next chapter. Please Enjoy.

Chapter 14

There was a deep silence then everybody cheered.

" Wow! Skipper, that's great," Marlene cheered. Rico jumped around the room happily, coughing up confetti

into the air.

" But wait. There's one more announcement I'd like you all to hear," Skipper glanced down at Private. "

Private, would you like to tell them?"

" About what, Skipper," Private scratched his head. Skipper whispered into his ear. " Oh? Thank-you." He

paused for a moment, as everybody in the group starred at him. Private became a little nervous then took in

a deep breath to calm himself down. " Okay, everyone. While Skipper's leaving us to become the general, I

will be taking the lead position on the team as Captain." Everyone in the room starred at him in awkward

silence and fell over at the shock of his words. Private suddenly became discouraged. About a few seconds

later, the animals jumped up onto their feet and cheered. Private smiled, not expecting them to applaud

for him, then turned to Skipper. "Skipper?"

" Yeah, Private," Skipper asked, raising an eyebrow.

" What if I don't do a great job as Captain," Private began in a nervous tone. " What if something terrible

happens? It's not like you're going to be there to help me out."

" I'll be there to help you out, Private," Skipper responded, patting Private on the shoulder.

" But how," Private worried. " You'll be traveling all over the country and will have hardly anytime to visit us,

except for inspection days."

" He'll have plenty of time to visit," Commander Warship retorted to Private. " Seeing that he's going to be

living with you soldiers. Not only that, he's going to be the one training you for Captain's position, plus you

get to travel with him on both missions and inspections."

" Really," Kowalski raised his eyebrows. " How did you two manage to work that out?"

" The commander and I made a deal so I can still be close to you boys," Skipper responded. " I know I have

never mentioned this to anyone before nor have I really thought about it, at all, but now that I think of it. You

boys are like a family to me. Which is why I didn't want a job that involved being separated from any of you.

By the way, I use the term " family" very lightly. So, don't think I'm turning soft or going easy on you, just

because I said that. Also, don't quote it from me, either. It's still basically goes against what I just said."

" So," Marlene began shrugging. " What was the deal you two made so you didn't have to leave?"

Skipper looked at everyone in the room confidently. " I told him either I come back as Captain and forget

about the promotion, or one of my team members gets appointed to Captain's position and I take the job as

General, or I miraculously balance the work for both General and Captain."

" And I told him," Commander Warship joined in on the conversation. " That he could still have his salmon and

eat it. So, I decided to let him stay at the zoo, appoint him as General, along with the benefits of being able

to travel on missions and inspections with you soldiers, and give him permission to help train Private for

Captain so he can train you men, and well, you know the rest."

" So, that means that Skipper will still be around," Private asked looking at Skipper.

Skipper nodded his head at him. " That's right, Private," Skipper continued. " And I suggest that you bring

your can-do attitude with you, because the training I'm about to give you for Captain is no trip to the sushi

bar. It requires a lot of concentration, time, strength in decision making, and above all patience, especially in

battle."

"Wow, that is an awful lot to do," Private said nervously. Skipper raised an eyebrow at Private. Private then

gave him an assured smile. " But I think can manage all of it," Private took a deep breath, then saluted to

Skipper. " I will do my best to be the best captain I can be, Sir."

Skipper saluted Private back. " Excelente. Just what I wanted to hear to hear from you, Private."

Private then looked sadly at the other two members of the team and glanced back at Skipper. " Skipper? If I

am going to be a captain, then wouldn't Kowalski and Rico get promoted to higher positions, too?"

Skipper glanced over at Rico and Kowalski, who both starred at him, and sighed." They were planning on

staying right where they are now," Skipper responded. " But that decision was made a few years ago.

Times have changed since then. So, I guess they can change their level of ranks right now if they wanted."

" Really," Private's eyes lit up in surprise. " Well, if times have changed. Why are they still in the same ranks?"

" Because we couldn't stand being apart from the team, either," Kowalski stated, while Rico nodded his head.

" You see? Once one is promoted to a higher rank, they are separated from their team for good, and it

becomes almost impossible to see or hear from anyone, again. So, we chose to remain in the ranks we are in

today to help keep this team together."

" Wow," Private widened his eyes. " I didn't realize you three sacrificed such huge opportunities just to

remain as, well, as Skipper had already said, "a family"."

" Well we did," Skipper glared at Private then whispered into his ear irritably. "Private? I already told you not

to quote me. It goes against everything I just said. Remember?" Private apologized to Skipper. Skipper

accepted the apology and went back to the conversation." Anyways. As I was saying. Now that there are

ways to keep teams together, while being promoted to higher positions, neither of us has to stay in the

same rank anymore. Besides, I've been trying to think of possible replacements for my position the first day I

ever became a captain. You know? Just in case something like this came up."

" You've been thinking about your replacement," Kowalski raised an eyebrow at Skipper, who just nodded his

head. " So have I. Though, I really could not find nor do I know of anyone who can fill my position. I guess I

could survive with it for a couple of more years or so. How about you Rico?" He turned to Rico, who was now

staring into space. Kowalski waved his flipper in front of him, making Rico regain his full attention." I heard

that others are terrified to take your position." Rico nodded his head and laughed. He coughed up the same

stick of dynamite as he did earlier and tried to light it once more. Once again, Skipper put the fuse out and

made Rico put the dynamite away. Rico groaned and swallowed the unlit stick of dynamite whole.

" Well until something comes up for you men," Skipper assured, wonderingly. " Do you think you can handle

dealing with Private as your captain? He is in training to be one after all and I wanted to make sure that the

team he's learning to lead is patient enough to follow through, despite any mistakes that he makes."

" Of course, Skipper," Kowalski said in an accepting tone. " We'd be more than happy to follow through with

Private learning how to lead. That's what teams do for each other. Or should I say that's what "families" do

for each other."

"Nice try, Kowalski," Skipper grumbled with a little chuckle in his voice, while giving the tallest penguin a slight

glare. Kowalski was a little intimidated by the glare, but, because he was use to seeing it, he remained calm

and unphased." You should know by now that even quoting the plural form of that word still goes against

everything I just said. Right?"

" Yes, Sir," Kowalski stated apologetically. " Sorry about that, Sir."

________________________________________________________________________________________

Whoa! Looks like there's hope for Kowalski's and Rico's futures after all. Coming up next in Chapter 15, which may or may not be the final chapter. I have not decided on it, yet. The animal's find out how severe Private's condition is when the vet reports back to the room. Please stay tuned and find out more.


	15. Chapter 15

_Skipper's Skipper_

Thanks for the reviews. Now here's the next chapter. It was a bit tricky to type out, but I wrote it the best I could. Anyways, please enjoy.

Chapter 15

" And please," Skipper referred to all of the penguins. " I'm begging all of you. Don't suck up to me. Alright?

Just because I'm a general, doesn't mean you men should start treating me any differently. I expect you to

feel comfortable with being yourselves around me. You got that?" The penguins nodded their heads in

unison. " Good."

Marlene heard footsteps and shushed the penguins, " I hear someone coming." The animals all remained

silent as they listened to the non-slip shoes, which the vet was wearing, hit the white tiled floor of the

infirmary as she approached the room.

Soon, the vet walked through the doorway. All of the animals, except for Private, retreated to the counter

as the vet approached the inspection table. " Well," she calmly said as she looked at Private. " Looks like

you've been getting far too much exercise for your own good. Almost like you've ran a marathon across the

country and back without so much as a break or water. Like your buddy over there." She perked her head up

at Skipper and then glanced back at Private. " I'm afraid you can't get too stressed out or angry, otherwise,

your little body will completely shutdown," The animals all raised their eyebrows at the vet as she made the

announcement and walked toward the exit of the infirmary. She opened the door for the ,

the vet had already known that the animals knew their way back to the zoo. " Anyways. You're free to go.

Bye-bye, now," She smiled as she pointed her arm to the outside of the infirmary. All of the animals nodded

their heads, exited through the door quickly, and ran to the penguin habitat.

Once they got there, they began to celebrate Skipper's and Private's promotions by having a party.

Although Skipper was not a huge fan of parties, but seeing that it was a very special occasion, he decided to

make an acception this time and celebrate.

Soon, the animals had invited everybody in the zoo over to the penguin headquarters, including the lemurs,

but did not tell them what it was in celebration of until they got there.

King Julien, at first, was thrilled about the idea of the celebration, but decided not to go to it, because

he was still angry at Skipper. Instead, he decided to stay home and have his own party. The other lemurs

shrugged at him and went to the celebration by themselves, leaving the lemur king all by his lonesome self.

As soon as the animals had arrived at the penguin's home, they turned up the music so loud that the lemur

king, himself, became annoyed by it. " What is with all of the rackety, racket," the lemur screamed. " Can they

not see that my party is to be needing to be better than theirs? " He jumped around on his green, makeshift

bounce house, which looked like him, and did poses in the air. Eventually, the lemur became so irritated at

being by himself and listening to the rock n' roll music, that he decided to run over to the penguin's habitat

and sneak a peek at the party that they were having through the opened door, which was over by the

bunks. As soon as he got there, he noticed that everybody was having a great time without him. The lemur

king looked around the whole room and saw that the penguins, the otter, and the other lemurs noticed his

presence and waved at him to come over to the table. King Julien folded his arms with a frown on his face

and looked away. Eventually, guilt and the thought of being alone at his own party set upon him and he

decided to walk over to the other animals.

" Well, well, well" Skipper folded his flippers. " Look who finally decided to show up to the party."

" King Julien," Mort jumped from behind the table and latched on to the lemur king's feet. " You made it."

" Not the feet," King Julien scolded as he removed Mort from his feet. "So. I hear you are having celebration,

yes? Does it have to do anything with me and my kingly, kingness?"

" Sorry, King Julien," Maurice responded. " This party has nothing to do with you."

" Then, if not me. Then who," King Julien put his paws on his hips. " Who is to be more important than your

king?"

" Look at the banners," Marlene pointed to one of the banners, which was hanging above the doorway, that

King Julien had entered through. It read, in red, white, and blue paint, " Congratulations General Skipper and

Captain Private! We Salute You!".

" Oh," the lemur king scratched his head. " So. What about it? What is it suppose to be meaning, exactly?"

" Skipper and Private each got a leadership rank," Kowalski began speaking. " Private's our new captain and

Skipper is our new highly ranked general."

" Oh," King Julien looked around the room with a confused expression, then glanced at Private and Skipper. "

Well, good luck to be doing with whatever it is you two are to be doing."

" Thanks," Private stated with an unsure expression. " I think."

" No problem small, flightless bird," King Julien stated as he turned his full attention Skipper. " Oh, Skipper?

Remember you still have to be dealing with my lawyer-type peoples tomorrow on Monday."

" Not anymore he doesn't," Mason stated as he and Phil walked up to the lemur. Phil began signing to

Mason. " We've already dealt with Skipper and he told us that he decided to make it up to you by inviting you

to the party."

" He did," King Julien raised his eyebrows. " Why did he not just say so?"

" Because I wanted you to figure it out on your own," Skipper interrupted as Mason and Phil returned to the

party. " And besides, since me apologizing to you verbally didn't help any. I'd figure I'd let you at least party

with us. You know? As way of saying that I'm sorry about moving out of the way and letting you fall into the

pool, ruining your crown, yata, yata. You know what I mean. Anyways. This is a one time thing. So, please

don't breathe into it too much. Okay?"

" Your apology is to being accepted," King Julien sniffled as he reached over to hug Skipper." I am to

be thanking you."

Skipper backed away, putting his flippers out in front of him. King Julien frowned. " Whoa," Skipper scolded. "

I don't know you like that. Besides, I just told you don't breathe into it too much. How about a handshake,

instead?" Skipper smiled as he put one flipper down and kept the other out.

" Alright," King Julien reached out his paw and shook it with Skipper's flipper. " So, how long is this party to

be lasting?" King Julien questioned as he curiously looked over at Commander Warship, " Oh, and who is this

to being? Because you all know that as your king, I have to know everybody that's to being in my kingdom."

" The party is suppose to last all night. And, Hi. I am Commander Warship," the commander retorted. " I'm

responsible for seeing to that everything goes by smoothly in the penguin army. That, and I'm in charge of

hiring for highly ranked military positions."

" Oh," King Julien scratched his head. " Excusing me?"

" Just stick to giving him your name," Kowalski whispered to Commander Warship. " It's easier for him to

remember. Trust me."

" Okay," the commander responded looking at Julien. " Just call me Commander Warship." As soon as the two

had introduced themselves, the animals began partying, until sunrise the next morning. After that, before

everybody had gone home and fallen asleep. The commander said his good-byes to the penguins and left

the zoo for his own home.

After he left, along with the other animals, the penguins cleaned up the entire habitat by themselves. Once

they were finished cleaning it, Skipper glanced down at Private. " Well," he stated. " Since you're the new

captain. Why don't you start off by giving your first order?"

" Oh," Private saluted Skipper. " Yes, Sir." He then nervously turned to Kowalski and Rico, and stuttered. "

Alright team? It's time to commence Operation: Bedtime." He glanced over at Skipper. " How was that,

Skipper?"

" Not bad, but try to sound more confident next time. Alright," Skipper stated, as he and the other

two headed over to their bunks. "But for now, get some shut eye. We've got a lot of ground we need to

cover tomorrow and if you don't get enough sleep, being in training for Captain is going to be even more

difficult for you. Trust me. I know. I've been there. It was not a pretty sight." Private nodded his head at

Skipper and eventually walked up to his bunk, which was the second to the last at the bottom. Soon, all of

the penguins climbed into their bunks and fell asleep right away. They could now rest easily knowing that

they were, once again and always will be, a team.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Wow. It's about time that King Julien accepted Skipper's apology . Just thought I'd let you all know that I've decided to end the story here, but I am planning on adding a sequel to it. I'm thinking about calling it " Captain Private". It's about Tank plotting his revenge against the penguins, while Skipper, the new general, is trying to train Private for Captain's position. I don't know when it will be up, because I have not started typing it onto my computer, yet, let alone downloaded it onto my document manager, but I do have it logged into my brain. Anyway, thank-you for reading this story. I hope that you enjoyed it. Bye-bye.


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